The common gull (European and Asian subspecies; see below) or mew gull (North American subspecies) Larus canus is a medium-sized gull which breeds in northern Asia, northern Europe and northwestern North America. It migrates further south in winter.[2] Its name does not indicate that it is an abundant species, but that during the winter it feeds on common land, short pasture used for grazing.[3]

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Adult common gulls are 40–46 cm long, noticeably smaller than the herring gull, and slightly smaller than the ring-billed gull, also differing from the latter in its shorter, more tapered bill with a more greenish shade of yellow, as well as being unmarked during the breeding season. The body is grey above and white below. The legs are greenish-yellow. In winter, the head is streaked grey, and the bill often has a poorly defined blackish band near the tip (sometimes sufficiently obvious to cause confusion with ring-billed gull). They have black wingtips with large white "mirrors". Young birds have scaly black-brown upperparts and a neat wing pattern, and grey legs. They take two to three years to reach maturity. The call is a high-pitched "laughing" cry.[2][4]

Both common and mew gulls breed colonially near water or in marshes, making a lined nest on the ground or in a small tree; colony size varies from 2 to 320 or even more pairs. Usually three eggs are laid (sometimes just one or two); they hatch after 24–26 days, with the chicks fledging after a further 30–35 days. Like most gulls, they are omnivores and will scavenge as well as hunt small prey. The global population is estimated to be about one million pairs; they are most numerous in Europe, with over half (possibly as much as 80-90%) of the world population.[6] By contrast, the Alaskan population is only about 10,000 pairs.[2]

The scientific name Larus canus simply translates from Latin as grey or hoary gull.[9] The name common gull was coined by Thomas Pennant in 1768 because he considered it the most numerous of its genus.[10]John Ray earlier used the name common sea-mall.[10] It is something of a cliche that uncommon gull is a more accurate description. There are many old British regional names for this species with variations on maa, mar and mew.[11]